Musharna [QC 3/3] [GP 2/2]

Moderator

<p>Musharna is one of the most versatile Pokemon in the tier due to a great stat distribution and a movepool that adds to its ability to perform a variety of roles. Such options include that of a defensive pivot, boosting sweeper, offensive Trick Room sweeper, and Choice Specs wallbreaker. Excellent defensive capabilities allow Musharna to check or counter most physical attackers, such as Sawk and Kangaskhan, as well as check most opposing Psychic-types, defensive threats, and most weak special attackers. Musharna has a wide, viable movepool with options including Heal Bell, Thunder Wave, Baton Pass, and Trick, while having reliable recovery of its own in Moonlight. Synchronize gives Musharna a great weapon against more defensive teams, as this allows it to cripple most defensive Pokemon that depend on status to wear it down. While access to so many useful options makes it an exceptional pick for many teams, Musharna's usefulness depends a lot on the variety of moves that it needs to run in a given situation, which highlights its biggest shortcoming in the fact that it's limited to only four of those options. It is also one of the slowest Pokemon in the tier, meaning that it is often prone to being worn down as it constantly gets pummeled by powerful attacks and passive damage. Musharna is able to threaten a lot of Pokemon that don't resist its STAB, but it tends to struggle a lot against most Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon that can either trap it or inflict said passive damage.</p>

<p>In a metagame where most common Pokemon are fast and frail, support pivot Musharna has a niche as a Pokemon able to utilize its bulk to find many opportunities to support its team. Musharna is able to switch into and safely cripple a lot of offensive Pokemon that fail to 2HKO it such as every common Fighting-type, as well as nearly every defensive Pokemon. The ability to heal with Moonlight is the staple of the set, as it allows Musharna to continuously perform its role of countering threats, giving it more opportunities to spread status or attack when necessary. Thunder Wave is also a given, as it provides paralysis support, which is useful especially against more offensive teams. As the main form of support in this set, Thunder Wave allows Musharna to find more and safer opportunities to utilize its other support options or heal, as it can outpace most paralyzed Pokemon, giving it a much easier time checking threats. Baton Pass is used to provide momentum for the team, and is particularly useful against Dark-types and Golurk as they attempt to switch into Psychic or Thunder Wave, respectively. It also works very well with Musharna's low Speed, which gives it a lot of opportunities to bring a teammate in for free. With Thunder Wave support on the switch, Baton Pass allows Musharna to get out of Skuntank for free. Heal Bell is a safer alternative as far as supporting the team and itself goes, allowing Musharna to cure status. This can be especially helpful when facing walls that rely on status to cripple Musharna, as they are crippled in return by Synchronize. Psychic is Musharna's primary STAB move, dealing respectable damage overall, giving it an option to hit Ground-types that are immune to Thunder Wave, and preventing itself from becoming Taunt bait.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>240 HP EVs give Musharna a Leftovers number to reduce passive damage, while the rest goes to its overall bulk. The selected moves provide Musharna the most effective form of consistently supporting its teammates, but there are other alternatives that can be useful in certain situations. Reflect is unique in the fact that it allows Musharna to bypass any of the physical attackers that can reliably break through it, such as Dark-types, Golurk, and Scolipede, allowing it to either safely switch out or retaliate. The same applies to special attackers such as Shiftry or Charizard if using Light Screen. Both moves can also be used to help teammates set up.</p>

<p>Pokemon that can lure or reliably threaten Dark- and Steel-types are especially good partners, as said Dark- and Steel-types are often common obstacles that can safely switch into Musharna and dismantle it with Pursuit or Toxic, respectively. Fighting-types such as Sawk and Gurdurr are excellent examples, as they can easily threaten essentially all of those obstacles, while also being able to take advantage of the likes of Audino and other Heal Bell users that don't particularly mind Musharna's plethora of opportunities to use Thunder Wave. Musharna can also form part of a Psychic / Fighting / Dark core that focuses on eliminating each other's checks. Haunter is also a good teammate to consider, as it can take advantage of free Baton Pass switch-ins with its excellent offensive prowess, break down offensive teams with the help of Thunder Wave support, and lure and eliminate several of Musharna's checks with Destiny Bond.</p>

<p>While this set might seem similar to the support set, this set focuses more on obtaining a win condition by playing the role of a bulky boosting sweeper. Musharna can slowly gain boosts on many physical attackers that can't 2HKO it such as most Fighting-type Pokemon that it counters, as well as almost any defensive Pokemon that isn't a Steel-type that carries Toxic. One of the main perks of this set is that even though it is more of a sweeper, Musharna is also easily capable of functioning as a physical wall of sorts, being able to support the team in a variety of ways in the process. After a single Calm Mind boost, Musharna's Special Defense becomes extraordinarily high, making it nearly impossible to 2HKO under most circumstances. Moonlight allows Musharna to pivot against threats that it can wall, and can be used to heal up any damage taken while setting up, or give it more opportunities to set up throughout the course of the match. Psychic is the primary STAB move, and easily has overwhelming damage output after several boosts. Heal Bell is the primary filler of choice, as it allows Musharna to support its teammates and itself. The latter is especially important in allowing Musharna to function as a stallbreaker against more defensive teams, and helps prevents its sweep from being cut short from annoying status ailments. However, Baton Pass provides excellent momentum with Musharna's low Speed, and can even give a teammate a temporary advantage by passing Calm Mind boosts. Signal Beam is Musharna's main coverage move, allowing it to hit Dark- and Psychic-types that aren't troubled by Psychic.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The given EV spread as usual gives Musharna a Leftovers number, giving it as much physical bulk as possible while the rest is dumped into Special Defense. A more offensive spread with more Special Attack investment can be used, but the problem with this is that the lack of defensive investment makes it much easier for physical attackers to break through Musharna. Likewise, Musharna can opt to run more Special Defense investment to set up more easily on special attackers such as Charizard and Eelektross, but that detracts from its ability to function as a mixed wall, and is largely unnecessary as Musharna is already boosting its Special Defense. As far as other move options go, it should be noted first of all that Musharna will have to forgo other important options, such as the ability to hit Dark-types, or to heal the team of status. Thunder Wave is nice to cripple Pokemon before Musharna attempts a sweep, and helps it better support its offensive teammates. Reflect lets it set up on a lot more physical attackers, like Scolipede and Golurk that Musharna tends to lure, while also helping Musharna escape from Skuntank's Pursuit much more reliably. Psyshock and Stored Power are neat alternatives over Psychic. The former hits special walls harder and allows Musharna to win any Calm Mind war, but is overall weaker than Psychic and more common walls in this metagame tend to be physically defensive anyways. The latter becomes more powerful than Psychic after two Calm Mind boosts, but Musharna doesn't usually have much time to get greedy with Calm Mind against more offensive teams. Hidden Power Ground can provide coverage against Skuntank, Metang, and Bastiodon.</p>

<p>Even though Musharna can make good use of its coverage moves, its abysmal Speed still leaves it vulnerable to Dark- and Steel-type counters such as Skuntank, Zweilous, and Metang. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk remain as the top suggestions for teammates as a result, as they can easily take advantage of them while also making Musharna's job easier against most special walls that can cripple it if it doesn't use Heal Bell. Ground-type Pokemon such as Golem, Piloswine, and Golurk are also good partners, as they are able to bust through most of these checks and set up Stealth Rock to provide more team support. Musharna also appreciates hazard support, as most of its checks are grounded and Musharna has a tendency of forcing many Pokemon out. Scolipede, Garbodor, and Roselia are all solid examples of supporters that can set up Spikes, and Scolipede can also help bust through opposing Psychic-types with its STAB Megahorn that can otherwise prove troublesome for Musharna.</p>

<p>This set takes a different offensive approach to Musharna, taking advantage of its ability to sweep the fast, frail offensive metagame with Trick Room and Life Orb-boosted attacks. While Beheeyem might appear to pull off a set like this much more effectively due to its significantly higher offensive presence and utility with Analytic, Musharna stands out due to its notably superior bulk. This allows Musharna to find a lot more setup opportunities and heal much more reliably than Beheeyem, while still possessing enough power to break through most offensive Pokemon with the help of Life Orb. Psychic is the consistent STAB move that can hit most Pokemon quite hard, easily OHKOing most offensive Pokemon with some hazard support. Signal Beam is Musharna's best coverage move, as it hits Dark- and Psychic-types that don't take much damage from Psychic. Moonlight is one of the best filler moves on this set, healing Life Orb recoil and other damage. Hidden Power Ground aims to gain a solid 2HKO on Skuntank and Metang, while also OHKOing Bastiodon and Probopass.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The EVs maximize Musharna's combination of power and bulk, and the IVs grant it a maximum Hidden Power Ground with the lowest Speed possible. If you do not wish to use Hidden Power Ground, simply use a 0 Speed IV instead. Leftovers can provide recovery, but this also comes at the cost of significantly cutting the set's damage output overall. It is worth noting that without Life Orb, Musharna fails to OHKO Jynx with Signal Beam after Stealth Rock. Similarly, TwistedSpoon could be used to boost the power of Musharna's STAB move without necessitating Life Orb recoil. Psyshock can hit Audino and Regice harder, but generally less enticing overall in a more physically oriented metagame. Baton Pass is good for momentum, but is generally less effective if Musharna has activated Trick Room already.</p>

<p>This set doesn't require as much support as most of Musharna's other sets, as it sports powerful offensive presence with solid coverage, allowing Musharna to threaten its checks much more efficiently. Nonetheless, Fighting-types remain as the best partners to enable a late-game Musharna sweep, which can also pair up with a Dark-type to make an effective core towards supporting one another. Bulky wallbreakers such as Gurdurr, Choice Band Lickilicky, and Eelektross can provide good backup under Trick Room, while also sharing good offensive synergy with Musharna. This set is much more vulnerable to passive damage between Life Orb damage and entry hazards, and due to the lack of defensive investment, Musharna becomes easier to wear down before it can have an opportunity to heal with Moonlight. As such, Pokemon that can help keep entry hazards away from the field are especially helpful; Choice Band Sawk for example can OHKO most of the common Stealth Rock users thanks to Mold Breaker. A safer alternative is a Rapid Spin user, notably Wartortle, as it can threaten Golurk with Scald and bypass other Ghost-types with Foresight to guarantee a Rapid Spin.</p>

<p>On paper, Choice Specs Musharna seems underwhelming, incapable of either pulling off dedicated sweeps or having the ability to keep itself alive with Moonlight. This set, however, should focus mostly on Musharna's power and ability to break through lots of Pokemon with its immediate offensive presence. This set requires a good amount of prediction to be useful, as locking itself in to an unfavorable coverage move or Psychic against a Dark- or Steel-type can leave it easily forced out. Signal Beam is the safest coverage move for this set, as it can hit Dark- and Psychic-types that its Psychic STAB doesn't cover well. Baton Pass can let Musharna escape from Skuntank switch-ins without taking any damage from potential trapping, while Hidden Power Ground can be used to 2HKO Skuntank and Steel-types. Trick gives this set a unique twist, allowing Musharna to cripple special walls or other common switch-ins, such as Skuntank and Golurk, very well. Sleep Talk can let Musharna also play the role of a sleep absorber, sponging the status from the likes of Tangela and Jynx.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The EV spread increases Musharna's effectiveness as a tank, maximizing its offensive prowess while investing the rest into its bulk. Moonlight can find a place on the set, and especially shares some synergy with Trick, as Musharna can easily switch moves and heal anytime after Tricking Choice Specs. Psyshock can give Musharna a better matchup against Lickilicky, Audino, and Regice, but it's still generally less effective in a metagame with most defensive Pokemon like Misdreavus or Tangela being physically bulky. Shadow Ball can be used to hit Golurk and Misdreavus harder, but it provides redundant coverage with Signal Beam, in fact missing out on Dark-types, which are the biggest obstacle of this set anyways.</p>

<p>This set especially appreciates support from its teammates, so that Musharna doesn't have to risk locking itself in to Signal Beam to hit Dark-types. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk are the most reliable options in this role, as both can usually switch safely into the likes of Skuntank or Liepard and easily threaten with their STAB moves. Ground-types are solid teammates as well, as they can switch in and hit Skuntank hard with Earthquake. Colbur Berry Golurk can also help by luring Skuntank as well as by switching into and threatening Audino and Lickilicky. Destiny Bond lures such as Gardevoir and Haunter are good teammates that can remove common Dark-type switches so that Musharna can safely proceed to spam Psychic.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>As versatile as Musharna is, it is perhaps no surprise that it does have a variety of other options worth considering. Musharna can utilize Rest and Sleep Talk as recovery, but this is ultimately inferior to Moonlight and Heal Bell as the latter two don't require putting itself to sleep, don't depend on the unreliable Sleep Talk, can support other team members as well, and can provide healing each turn. Hypnosis and Yawn can allow Musharna to cripple something in the form of sleep, which is always game-changing in itself, and Musharna can have plenty of opportunities to use them with its excellent bulk. Forewarn allows Musharna to scout for coverage moves. Toxic seems enticing, but is overshadowed by the utility of Synchronize in many cases, and Thunder Wave is the better support option for more offensive teams. Rain Dance is interesting, and Musharna can make use of Baton Pass alongside it to generate momentum and get rain sweepers in for free. This does, however, further compound Musharna's four-moveslot syndrome. Rain also really lowers the effectiveness of Moonlight.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Musharna is a very difficult Pokemon to check because of its great stat distribution, defensive typing that leaves it few weaknesses, and a wide movepool that gives it a lot of options. Because of how differently they play and which filler options they choose, each of Musharna's sets has different flaws and vulnerabilities to exploit.</p>

<p>The best all-around answers, especially to mono-attacking sets, are Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon. Skuntank can come in on everything but a timely Hidden Power Ground and proceed to shut Musharna down with Taunt, trap it with Pursuit, or hit it hard with Crunch. Zweilous can just phaze it out while taking minimal damage from Signal Beam or respond with Crunch for heavy damage. Mandibuzz is another solid answer that is able to shut down Musharna a majority of the time with its typing, bulk, and access to Taunt to stop it from using its support options. However, Mandibuzz must be wary of being crippled with Thunder Wave on the switch or Toxic when attempting to hit Musharna in kind, due to Musharna's Synchronize and Heal Bell. Liepard can switch in and Encore Musharna into any move that doesn't threaten it, especially as Prankster ignores Trick Room, and proceed to set up on Musharna. Zweilous and Liepard must be wary of Life Orb or Choice Specs-boosted Signal Beam, however, as well as Trick. Generally speaking, any set that forgoes Heal Bell is susceptible to status, but you must be wary of Synchronize's effect as it can turn your strategy against you. This is where Steel-type Pokemon such as Metang, Bastiodon, and Probopass become some of the most solid answers. They resist Psychic and take very little from Musharna's coverage moves barring Hidden Power Ground and Trick, and reduce its overall performance with Toxic. Metang, Bastiodon, and Probopass are also able to stall out Heal Bell between Metang's 4x resistance to Psychic and Probopass's excellent bulk with Leftovers, alongside their immunity to Toxic.</p>

<p>In regards to other offensive Pokemon, Golurk can take two unboosted Psychic hits and proceed to 2HKO with Shadow Punch. Swoobat can outboost Calm Mind Musharna and overwhelm it with boosted Stored Power, while its typing is great for tanking most of Musharna's attacks in general, giving it many opportunities to set up on Musharna. Powerful physical Bug-types such as Scolipede, Pinsir, and Armaldo can 2HKO with their STAB moves. Haunter can Disable Musharna's Psychic and proceed to wear it down with Shadow Ball, or can serve as a last-ditch resort with Destiny Bond. Most Choice-locked attackers such as Braviary and powerful special attackers that can 2HKO it before it can start boosting with Calm Mind such as Charizard or Jynx can easily overwhelm Musharna with their sheer power, making it impossible for Musharna to safely boost.</p>

Hide(Move your mouse to the hide area to reveal the content)Show HideHide Hide

[Overview]

One of the most versatile Pokemon in the tier

Has a great stat distribution that adds to its ability to perform a variety of roles

These roles include that of a defensive pivot, boosting sweeper, offensive Trick Room sweeper, or a Choice Specs wallbreaker

Its excellent defensive stats gives it the ability to check or counter most physical attackers, as well as check most opposing Psychic types and weak special attackers.

This set takes its best approach in a metagame where most Pokemon are fast and frail, giving it good opportunities to use its bulk and supporting most offensive teams.

Musharna is able to switch into and cripple a lot of physical attackers that can't 2HKO it, alongside nearly every defensive Pokemon and most opposing Psychic-types.

The ability to heal with Moonlight is the staple of its set, as it allows it to combine its bulk and longevity to continuously switch into threats and support its team.

Thunder Wave on this set provides a defining niche for offesive teams, as they often appreciate slowing down opposing fast Pokemon. This also can help Musharna gain more opportunities to use its other support options or heal as it can outpace most paralyzed Pokemon and gives it an easier time to check multiple threats.

Heal Bell allows it to support the team by removing status conditions. It also is good for taking advantage of Synchronize, as Musharna is often a common target of status by most defensive Pokemon.

Reflect is unique in the fact that it helps Musharna bypass any of the physical attackers that can break through it, such as Dark-types, Golurk, or Scolipede. It can also support the team with providing more insurance on physical attacks to better take advantage of.

Psychic deals respectable damage as a primary STAB move, and primarily to prevent Taunt and hit Ground-types who are immune to Thunder Wave.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Evs represents an odd number, which allows Musharna to slightly reduced the amount of passive damage inflicted and receives a Leftovers number

Baton Pass could be used to provide momentm, while it can also make use of options like Light Screen, Trick Room, or Rain Dance to support the team

This set does not require much support, as it serves a purpose of doing so on its own. It does, however, appreciate teammates that can threaten the Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon that bothers Musharna. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr or Sawk are excellent examples. Most bulky Ground-types can take on Skuntank very well while reliably deal with most Steel-types, as they often lack offensive presence.

Pokemon that can lure Fighting types are particularly good partners, as they often share good synergy and allows Musharna to get more opportunities to perform its job. To a lesser extent, this applies to most physical attackers, psychic types, and defensive Pokemon in general.

Wallbreakers or setup sweepers with low-to-middling Speed appreciates the paralysis support provided on this set.

While this set plays similar to the previous set at first glance, this focuses more on obtaining a win contition on the category of a bulky boosting sweeper

Even as a boosting sweeper, Musharna still has the capabilities of functioning as a physical wall of sorts, while still supporting the team in a variety of ways.

Calm Mind is the central move of the set, boosting its Special Attack and Special Defense by one level. After a single boost, it special bulk becomes extraordinarily high, and is nearly impossible to 2HKO on the special side.

Psychic is a moderately powerful STAB to utilize, and can have overwhelming damage output after a number of boosts.

Moonlight allows Musharna to pivot against threats that it can wall and can be used to heal up any prior damage upon setting up or give it more opportunities throughout the course of the match.

Heal Bell can take advantage of Synchronize, allowing it to funtion as a stallbreaker towards more defensive teams. It can also support the team and itself.

Baton Pass is unique and a well-fit filler for this set, as Musharna's very low Speed allows it to nearly always provide momentum and can even pass Calm Mind boosts to an appropriate recipient.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Evs for Leftovers number, while giving it as much physical bulk as possible to take full advantage of the set. The rest dumps into Special Defense.

A more offensive spread can be utilized in the form of investing heavily in Special Attack, but the lack of defense investments gives physical attackers an easier time breaking through Musharna.

Likewise, a more specially-oriented spread on the defensive end can be used to setup on more Special Attackers and wall them better, but that detracts its ability to function as a mixed wall in a similar category.

Thunder Wave is nice to cripple faster Pokemon before it attempts to sweep, but has to forgo other important options, such as being able to hit Dark-types or healing status for the team.

Reflect is on the same boat as far as 4MSS goes, but it's useful for being able to setup on a lot more physical attackers, luring Scolipede and Golurk. It can also help Musharna escape from Skuntank's Pursuit much more reliably.

Psyshock or Stored Power are neat alternatives over Psychic; the former hitting special walls harder and allowing Musharna to win any Calm Mind war, but is overall weaker than Psychic and more common walls tend to be physically-oriented anyways. The latter could be used to gain more powerful hits than Psychic after several boosts, but it doesn't necessarily have much time to get especially greedy with Calm Mind against more offensive teams.

Hidden Power Ground can be used to net coverage against Skuntank, Metang, and Bastiodon.

Even though Musharna can make good use of its coverage moves, its abysmal Speed still makes it taken advantage of by Dark- and Steel-type counters such as Skuntank, Zweilous, and Metang. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk remains as the top examples for teammates as a result, as they can easily take advantage of them while also making Musharn's job easier against most special walls.

Ground-type Pokemon such as Golem, Piloswine, and Golurk are also good examples, being able to bust through most of Musharna's checks.

Appreciates hazard support as most of its checks are grounded and Musharna has a tendency of forcing a lot of Pokemon out.

This set takes an approach of Musharna's ability to take advantage of the fast, frail offensive metagame, being capable of sweeping with Trick Room and Life Orb boosted attacks.

While Beheeyem may appear to pull a set like this much better off due to its significantly higher offensive presence and utility with Analytic, Musharna stands out due to its notably superior bulk. This allows Musharna to find a lot more setup opportunities and heal off much more reliably than Beheeyem.

Psychic for stab

Signal Beam for best coverage

gotta heal that life orb recoil or other damage with Moonlight

hidden power ground to snipe Steels

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Evs and nature to maximize prowess, while rest dumps into bulk

For Hidden Power Ground, IVs should be 30 HP with 3 Speed to obtain a minimum speed with maximum Base Power.

Leftovers could be used over Life Orb to generate more health, but this cuts the set's damage output

On a similar boat, Twistedspoon can boost its power of its STAB move without providing any Life Orb recoil

Psyshock can hit stuff like Audino or Regice harder, but generally less enticing in a more physically-oriented metagame

Baton Pass is good for momentum, but generally less effective if it has activated Trick Room already

This set doesn't require as much support as most of its others, since it sports powerful offensive presence with solid coverage, allowing it to threaten most of its checks more efficiently

Bulky setup sweepers or wallbreakers such as Gurdurr, Choice Band Lickilicky, or Eelektross can take advantage of the support provided with Trick Room, while also sharing good synergy

On paper, Choice Specs Musharna may seem underwhelming due to its incapability of pulling off initial sweeps nor having the ability of keeping itself alive with Moonlight unlike most of Musharna's other sets.

This, however, focus mostly on Musharna's power and offensive utility to break through lots of Pokemon

Requires predction to make most of its effeciveness, as

Psychic can deal a lot of damage, though its usage is limited in terms of reliability when facing a Dark-type

Trick puts a unique twist on the set, allowing Musharna to cripple special walls that can tank this set well.

Hidden Power Ground 2hko's Skuntank, Metang, and Klang, while OHKOing Bastiodon and Probopass.

Baton Pass can act as a pseudo-momentum grabber and eases prediction on switch-ins

Sleep Talk to absorb sleep from the likes of Tangela or Jynx

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Evs are tradition for that of a tank, maximing offensive prowess while also doing the remainder on bulk

Moonlight can make use on the set that especially shares some synergy with Trick, but still generally situational and loses out on important coverage as a result

Psyshock to hit special walls harder, but generally less effective in the metagame otherwise

Shadow Ball hits Golurk and Misdreavus harder, but represents redundant coverage with Signal Beam and missing out on Dark-types.

Like all of its other sets, this one especially appreciates Pokemon who can threaten Dark- and Steel-types attempting to switch into a Specs Psychic. Gurdurr and Sawk.

[Other Options]

Rest-Talk Calm Mind, but is generally inferior to standard Calm Mind with Moonlight

Hypnosis and Yawn allows Musharna to cripple Pokemon in the form of sleep, which is always beneficial and game-changing in itself.

Forwarn is cool for scouting coverage or even the variety of moves that can cripple Musharna, such as status or Trick.

Toxic seems enticing, but is overshadowed by the utility of Synchronize in many cases and Thunder Wave is the more optimal support option for more offensive teams.

Rain Dance is interesting, and can make use of Baton Pass alongside it to generate momentum and get rain sweepers in for free. This does, however, further compound Musharn's problem with 4MSS. Rain also really deters the effectiveness of Moonlight.

[Counters]

Very difficult Pokemon to check because of its great stat distribution, defensive typing that represents a lack of weaknesses, and a wide, versatile movepool that gives it a lot of options.

Because of how different they play towards one another, each of its sets are explioted in different number of ways based on their flaws and the filler options it chooses.

Generally speaking, any set that forgos Heal are susceptable to status, but you must be wary of Synchronize's side effects

The best all-around answers, especially on mono-attacking sets, are Dark-type Pokemon and certain types of Pokemon that resists its STAB moves. Skuntank can come in on the majority of the time besides a timely Hidden Power Ground and proceed to shut it town with Taunt, trap it with Pursuit, or hit it hard with Crunch. Zweilous will just phaze it out and take minimal damage from Signal Beam if Musharna has it, and can also respond with Crunch for heavy damage. Liepard can switch in and Encore Mushara with any more that doesn't threaten it, and process to setup. Zweilous and Liepard must be ware of Life Orb or Choice Specs-boosted Trick

Metang, Bastiodon, or Probopass is one of the best answers all-around, resisting Psychic, taking little from Musharna's coverage moves barring Hidden Power Ground and Trick, and dismantling its performance with Toxic.

Golurk can take two unboosted Psychics and 2HKO with Shadow Punch.

Swoobat can outboost Calm Mind Musharna and overwhelm it with boosted Stored Power; while its typing is great for tanking most of Musharna's attacks, giving it opportunities to setup on it.

Powerful physical Bug-types such as Scolipede, Pinsir, and Armaldo can 2HKO with their STAB moves.

Haunter can Disable Musharna's Psychic and process to wear it down with Shadow Ball, or can serve as a last ditch resort with Destiny Bond.

Oftentimes a very challenging Pokemon to stop, and means that players have to resort to doing risky things just to beat it.

NU Co-Leader

I really don't like hp ground on specs mush. Baton Pass is a lot better there, when combined with trick. When I use specs mush im usualy tricking specs fairly early. Baton Pass lets me get rid of skuntanks without taking any damage. And otherwise lets me scout what their mush switch in is.. Also being locked into HP Ground sucks. so make it the 2nd slash after baton pass in the 3rd slot

Baton Pass is great on Musharna, I think that it should be a main move on the Support Pivot set with Reflect in AC instead. I'd like it to be slashed before Heal Bell, since the combination of Thunder Wave + Baton Pass allows you to completely avoid Skuntank from doing anything to you and Baton Pass gets you a lot of momentum against potential switches such as Golurk, Skuntank, and w/e is wanting to switch in. Since Musharna is so slow, it also gets in something offensive for free without them taking damage, which is nice.

I also think that Baton Pass should be moved up on Calm Mind. I've said it before in the June 2013 stats, that since the only real Dark-types used are: Stuntank(neutral to Signal Beam and uses SpD EVs so you aren't breaking it any time soon), Shiftry(raped by Signal Beam, but too afraid of switching in), and Mandibuzz(neutral to Signal Beam but way too bulky for Musharna to break down and can stallbreak it with Taunt or Whirlwind) . This means Signal Beam will only really help in Musharna vs Musharna CM wars, but it's usually to just go to something else than attempt a CM war anyways. Baton Pass is great on this for two reasons: 1)You can pass your boosts to a partner like Ludicolo, Charizard, or even Scarf Jynx (this is fun), completely safely. 2)You can gain momentum vs things that like to switch in, which is great.

[Overview]

Instead of calling it one of the most versatile pivot in the tier, just call it one of the most versatile Pokemon in the tier.

Either in a/c of first set or in other options, mention the possibility of a special defensive set since musharna's sp.d is actually even higher than it's def and it's typing only leaves ghosts and the rare quiver dancers to wall break it. It is weaker to pursuit however so reflect and baton pass get a special mention.

For the TR set, specify the 0 IV's are for speed

Bulky wallbreakers such as Gurdurr, Choice Band Lickilicky, or Eelektross can take advantage of the support provided with Trick Room, while also sharing good synergy.

Click to expand...

Gurdurr is more of a set up sweeper, so maybe change wallbreakers to bulky offense.

I think he was referring to the Flame Orb Guts set with Hammer Arm that works in Trick Room. IDK how he can refer to it if it's not on site though, maybe be more specific on its set?

Also in AC of TR say that if using Hidden Power Ground that IVs should be: 30 SpA / 3 Spe to have minimum Speed with maximum HP Ground BP. Using anything lower than 3 Spe gives you either 64 BP HP Ground or HP Flying. (Don't need to mention that, I was just saying)

[Additional Comments] (Support Pivot)
Mention what the EVs do: 240 HP is Lefties number etc. A little late, but Trick Room already has a set and even though its not a dedicated TR supporter I think it would be better left out from here. Rain Dance is already in OO so just keep it there.

mention mandibuzz please. it's not the best answer for musharna, because musharna can always cripple it on the switch, or switch into mandibuzz's toxic itself to poison through synchronize. however, it totally shuts down all of the sets, most notably the last 3, when it is in the field.

Moderator

<p>Musharna is one of the most versatile Pokemon in the tier due to a great stat distribution and a movepool that adds to its ability to perform a variety of roles. Such options include that of a defensive pivot, boosting sweeper, offensive Trick Room sweeper, or a Choice Specs wallbreaker.(period)withExcellent defensive capabilities that allowsallow Musharna to check or counter most physical attackers, such as Sawk orand Kangaskhan, as well as check most opposing Psychic-types, defensive threats, and most weak special attackers. Musharna has a wide, viable movepool with options likeincluding Moonlight i'd remove this since you mention it separately later, Heal Bell, Thunder Wave, Baton Pass, orand Trick, while having a reliable recovery of its own withinand Moonlight. Synchronize gives Musharna a great weapon against more defensive teams, as itthis allows it to cripple most defensive Pokemon that depend on status to wear it down. While having access to so many useful options makes or an exceptional slotmakes it an exceptional pick for many teams, Musharna(')s presencesomething like 'utility' or 'usefulness' might be a better fit here? depends a lot on the variety of moves that it needs to run in a given situation, which highlights its biggest shortcoming in the fact that it(')s only limited to four of those options. It is also one of the slowest Pokemon in the tier, meaning that it is often prone to being worn down as it constantly gets pummeled by powerful attacks and passive damage. Musharna is able to threaten a lot of Pokemon who doesn(')t resist its STAB, but it tends to struggle a lot against most Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon that can either trap it or inflict said passive damage.</p>

<p>In a metagame where most common Pokemon are fast and frail, Support Pivot Musharna makes a defining role ofhas a niche as a Pokemon that is able to utilize its bulk to find many opportunities to support its team. Musharna is able to switch into and safely cripple a lot of offensive Pokemon that fail to 2HKO it, maybe give examples?alongsideas well as nearly every defensive Pokemon. The ability to heal with Moonlight is the staple of the set, as it allows Musharna to continuously perform its role of countering threats,(comma)and thus givesgiving it more opportunities to spread status or attack when necessary. Thunder Wave is also a given, as it provides paralysis support, giving Musharna more leeway towards its teammates against especiallywhich is useful especially against more offensive teams. BeingAs the main form of support in this set, Thunder Wave allows Musharna to find more and safer opportunities to utilize its other support options or heal,(comma) as it can outpace most paralyzed Pokemon, giving it a much easier time to checkchecking threats. Baton Pass is used to provide momentum for the team, which especially comes into play when matching up withand is particularly useful against Dark-types orand Golurk as they attempt to switch into Psychic or Thunder Wave, respectively. It also works very well with Musharna(')s low Speed, givingwhich gives it a lot of opportunities to bring a teammate in for free. With Thunder Wave support on the switch, Baton Pass allows Musharna to get out of Skuntank for free. Heal Bell is a safer alternative as far as supporting the team and itself goes, allowing for Musharna to cure status. This can be especially helpful when matching up withfacing walls that rely on status to cripple Musharna,(comma) as they are crippled in return by Synchronize. Psychic is Musharna(')s primary STAB move, dealing respectable damage overall,(comma)and givesgiving it an option to hit Ground-types that are immune to Thunder Wave,(comma) and preventing itself from becoming Taunt bait.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>(remove space)The EVs listed are crucial, as 240 HP EVsgivesgive Musharna a Leftovers number to reduce passive damage,(comma) while the rest goes to its overall bulk. As far as the set itself goes, it provides Musharna a defensive playstyle that is quite self-sufficient on its own. The selected moves that are selected provide Musharna the most effective form of consistently supporting its teammates, but there are other alternatives that can become of good use upon different situationsbe useful in certain situations. Reflect is unique in the fact that it allows Musharna to bypass any of the physical attackers that can reliably break through it, such as Dark-types, Golurk, orand Scolipede, andallowing it to either safely switch out or retaliate in return. This also goes the same in a sense of popular Special Attackers if you choose to select Light Screen for a filler option.The same applies to special attackers (such as?) if using Light Screen. Both moves can also be used to help teammates set up if they are kept active at a proper timing.</p>

<p>(remove space)Pokemon that can lure or reliably threaten Dark- and Steel-types are especially good partners, as theysaid Dark- and Steel-typesoften are often common obstacles that can safely switch into Musharna and dismantle it with common moves Pursuit or Toxic, respectively. Fighting-types such as Sawk orand Gurdurr are excellent examples, as they can easily threaten essentially all of those variantsobstacles, while also being able to take advantage of the likes of Audino orand other Heal Bell users that don(')t particularly mind Musharna(')s plethora of opportunities to use Thunder Wave. Musharna can also formulateform part of a Psychic / Fighting / Dark core that centres on supporting each other to help eliminate their checksfocuses on eliminating each other's checks. Haunter is also a unique example of agood teammate to consider, being able toas it canuse its offensive prowess to take advantage from free switch-ins from Baton Passtake advantage of free Baton Pass switch-ins with its excellent offensive prowess, break down offensive teams with the help of Thunder Wave support, and lure past several of Musharna(')s checks with Destiny Bond.</p>

<p>(remove space)While at a first glance this set would seem to directly play a very similar role towards Musharna's previous set,While this set might seem very similar to the previous one at first glance, this set focuses more on obtaining a win condition in the categoryby playing the role of a bulky boosting sweeper. Musharna can slowly gain boosts on many physical attackers that can(')t 2HKO it, as well as weak special attackers give examples of both?. One of the main perks of this set is that even though it categorizes its play-style more towards sweepingis more of a sweeper, Musharna is also easily capable of functioning as a physical wall of sorts, being able to support the team in a variety of ways in the process. Calm Mind is the central move of the set, boosting Musharna(')s Special Attack and Special Defense by one level. After a single boost, Musharna(')s Special Defense becomes extraordinarily high, and ismaking it nearly impossible to 2HKO under most circumstances. Moonlight allows Musharna to pivot against threats that it can wall, and can be used to heal up any prior damage upontaken while setting up,(comma) or give it more opportunities to set up throughout the course of the match. Psychic is the primary STAB move given towards the set, and is easily able to haveeasily has overwhelming damage output after several boosts maybe provide a line or two about it achieving ohkos/ 2hkos against standard special walls in the tier?. Heal Bell is the primary filler of choice, allowingas it allows Musharna to support its teammates and itself. The latter is especially important when undergoing the process of sweeping,in allowing Musharna to function as a stallbreaker against more defensive teams,(comma) and helps prevents its sweep from being cut short from annoying status ailments. Baton Pass provides excellent momentum with Musharna(')s low Speed, however, and can even give a teammate a temporary advantage towardsby passing Calm Mind boosts. Signal Beam is Musharna(')s main coverage move, allowing it to hit Dark- and Psychic-types that aren(')t troubled by Psychic.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>(remove space)The given EV spread as usual gives Musharna a Leftovers number, giving it as much physical bulk as possible upon taking advantage of the setnot sure what this means while the rest dumpsis dumped into Special Defense. A more offensive spread with more Special Attack investment can be used in the form of investing heavily in Special Attack, but the problem with this is that the lack of defensive investment makes it much easier for physical attackers to break through Musharna specific KOs?. Likewise, a more specially-oriented spread on the defensive end can be usedMusharna can opt to run more Special Defense investment to setupset up on more or 'more easily'? they're slightly different thingsspecial attackersand wall them better, but that detracts its ability to function as a mixed wall in a similar category, and is largely unnecessaryseeing as Musharna is already boosting its Special Defense. the entire previous section is a bit vague and honestly doesn't provide much not-already-very-obvious information. i'd suggest naming specific pokemon the various investments can (or can't) let it safely set up on, even providing any useful calcs if possible (not numbers or a list of damage calculations, but at least mention if certain investment is necessary to live KOs from common attacks, stuff like that) As far as other move options of moves go, it should be noted first of all that Musharna haswill have to forgo other important options, such as being ablethe ability to hit Dark-types,(comma) or healing status for the teamto heal the team of status. Thunder Wave is nice to cripple Pokemon before Musharna attempts a sweep, and helps it better support its offensive teammates. Reflect is useful for being able to setuplets it set up on a lot more physical attackers, luring Scolipede and Golurk, while also helping Musharna escape from Skuntank's Pursuit much more reliably. Psyshock orand Stored Power are neat alternatives over Psychic.(period) The former hittinghits special walls harder and allowingallows Musharna to win any Calm Mind war, but is overall weaker than Psychic and more common walls, such as (?), tend to be physically oriented anyways. The latter could be used to gain more powerful hitsbecomes more powerful than Psychic after several roughly how many? boosts, but Musharna doesn't necessarilyusually have much time to get especially greedy with Calm Mind against more offensive teams. Hidden Power Ground can be used to netprovide coverage against Skuntank, Metang, and Bastiodon.</p>

<p>(remove space)Even though Musharna can make good use of its coverage moves, its abysmal Speed still makesleaves it taken advantage of byvulnerable to Dark- and Steel-type counters such as Skuntank, Zweilous, and Metang. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk remain as the top examplessuggestions for teammates as a result, as they can easily take advantage of them while also making Musharna's job easier against most special walls that can cripple it if it doesn(')t use Heal Bell. Ground-type Pokemon such as Golem, Piloswine, and Golurk are also good examplespartners, beingas they are able to bust through most of these checks and set up Stealth Rock to provide more team support. Musharna also appreciates hazard support, as most of its checks are grounded and Musharna has a tendency of forcing a lot ofmany Pokemon out. Scolipede, Garbodor, and Roselia are all solid examples of Spikes(?) supporters, in which case the ladderand the—'former' and 'latter' should only be used when talking about two things, so swap up the order of the mentioned spikers if necessary and change it to 'first' or 'last' can also help bust through opposing Psychic-types that can otherwise make more workprove troublesome for Musharna.</p>

<p>(remove space)This is a different offensive approach that Musharna can take over its Calm Mind counterpart that uses Musharna's ability to take advantage of the fast, frail offensive metagame, being capable of sweeping with Trick Room and Life Orb boosted attacks.This set takes a different offensive approach to Musharna, taking advantage of its ability to sweep the fast, frail offensive metagame with Trick Room and Life Orb-boosted attacks. While Beheeyem maymight appear to pull off a set like this much better offmore effectively due to its significantly higher offensive presence and utility with Analytic, Musharna stands out due to its notably superior bulk. This allows Musharna to find a lot more setup opportunities and heal off much more reliably than Beheeyem, while Musharna still haspossessing enough power to break through most offensive Pokemon with the help of Life Orb. Psychic is the consistent STAB move that can hit most Pokemon quite hard, easily OHKOing most offensive Pokemon with some hazard support. Signal Beam is Musharna(')s best coverage move, hitting past Dark- and Psychic-types that aren(')t of much problem against Psychicas it hits Dark- and Psychic-types that don't take much damage from Psychic. Moonlight is one of the biggest advantages of abest filler moves on this set, healing Life Orb recoil or other damage. Hidden Power Ground aims to gain a solid 2HKO on Skuntank and Metang, while also OHKOing Bastiodon and Probopass. </p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>(remove space)The EVs are presented to maximize Musharna(')s combination of power and bulk, while shifting its IVs to 30 for HP and 3 for Speed to obtainand the IVs grant it a maximum Hidden Power Ground and otherwise outspeed as much as it can under Trick Roomwith the lowest Speed possible. If you do not wish to use Hidden Power Ground, then you can just adjust the IVs towards 0simply use a 0 Speed IV instead. As far as items go, Leftovers can be used to generate more healthprovide recovery, but this also comes at the cost of significantly cutting the set(')s damage output overall does this miss any specific notable KOs?. On a similar boat,Similarly,TwistedSpoon could be used to boost the power of Musharna(')s STAB move without providingnecessitating Life Orb recoil. Psyshock can hit Pokemon like Audino orand Regice harder, but generally less enticing overall in a more physically oriented metagame. Baton Pass is good for momentum, but is generally less effective if itMusharna has activated Trick Room already. </p>

<p>(remove space)This set doesn(')t require as much support as most of Musharna(')s other sets, as it sports powerful offensive presence with solid offensive coverage, allowing Musharna to threaten its checks much more efficiently. Even so, providing support still stands towards benefiting Musharna(')s ability to sweep late-game.Nonetheless, Fighting-types as usual remain as the best partners for the jobto enable a late-game Musharna sweep, which can also form a Dark-type huh? to make an effective core towards supporting one another. Bulky wallbreakers such as Gurdurr, Choice Band Lickilicky, orand Eelektross can provide good presencebackup under Trick Room, while also sharing good offensive synergy with Musharna. This set is much more vulnerable to passive damage between Life Orb damage and entry hazards, and withdue to the lack of defensive investment, itMusharna becomes easier to wear down Musharna before it can have an opportunity to heal with Moonlight. As such, Pokemon that can help keep thementry hazards away from the field, such as Choice Band Sawk,isare especially helpful; Choice Band Sawk for example canfor being able to OHKO most of the common Stealth Rock users throughthanks to Mold Breaker. A safer alternative is a Rapid Spinner, notably Wartortle,(comma) as it can threaten Golurk with Scald and bypass other Ghost-types with Foresight, gaining a free Rapid Spin offto guarantee a Rapid Spin.</p>

<p>On paper, Choice Specs Musharna seems underwhelming,(comma)this is due to its incapability of neitherincapable of either pulling off dedicated sweeps noror having the ability to keep itself alive with Moonlight, unlike most of Musharna(')s other sets. This set, however, should focus mostly on Musharna's power and offensive utilityability to break through lots of Pokemon with its immediate offensive presence. This set requires a good amount of prediction to become of great usebe useful, as locking itself into an unfavorable coverage move or Psychic against a Dark- or Steel-type can easily allow Musharna to beleave it easily forced out. Signal Beam is the safest coverage move for this set, being able toas it can hit a lot of Dark- and Psychic-types that its Psychic STAB doesn(')t cover well. Baton Pass can get out oflet Musharna escape from Skuntank switch-ins without taking any damage from potential trapping, whichwhileHidden Power Ground can be used to 2HKO Skuntank alongsideand Steel-types. Trick pullsgives this set a unique twist on this set, allowing Musharna to cripple special walls or other common switch-ins, such as Skuntank and Golurk, very well for it as they often prefer being able to support themselves or hitting on the physical side, being Skuntank or Golurk. Sleep Talk can be used to utilize Musharna aslet Musharna also play the role of a sleep absorber, sponging the status from the likes of Tangela orand Jynx.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>(remove space)The EV spread listed are given for Musharna to best playincreases Musharna's effectiveness as a tank, maximizing its offensive prowess while spendinginvesting the rest towardsinto its bulk. Moonlight can make usefind a place on the set,(comma)thatandespecially shares some synergy with Trick,(comma) as itMusharna can easily switch moves and heal anytime after Tricking Choice Specs. Psyshock can also give Musharna a better matchup against Lickilicky, Audino, orand Regice, but it(')s still generally less effective in a metagame with most defensive Pokemon such as? being physically bulky. Shadow Ball can also be used to hit Golurk and Misdreavus harder, but it representsprovides redundant coverage with Signal Beam, otherwisein fact missing out on Dark-types, which are the biggest obstacle of this set anyways. </p>

<p>(remove space)This set especially appreciates support from its teammates, so that Musharna doesn(')t have to create much towardsrisk locking itself into Signal Beam to hit Dark-types, and thus being easier to take advantage of. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk are the most reliable options ofin this role, as both can usually net a safe switch into them most of the timeswitch safely into (give some common Dark-types?) and easily threaten with their respective STAB moves. Ground-types in particular are solid teammates as well, being able toas they can switch in and hit Skuntank hard with Earthquake. Colbur Berry Golurk can also be of help in terms ofhelp by luring Skuntank with Colbur Berry, and otherwise being able toas well as by switching into and threatening Audino and Lickilicky. Destiny Bond lures such as Gardevoir and Haunter are good teammates, removingthat can remove common Dark-type switches so that Musharna can safely proceed to spam Psychic.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>(remove space)As versatile as Musharna is, it is perhaps no surprise that it does have a variety of other options that it can spend some time usingworth considering, though is generally best off sticking to its sets. Musharna can utilize Rest and Sleep Talk as recovery, but this is ultimately less inferior to Moonlight and Heal Bell for recovery as the latter two doesn(')tdon't require putting itself to sleep each turn, don't depend on the unreliable Sleep Talk, can support other team members as well, and can provide healing each turn. It also makes Musharna much easier to break through overall as Sleep Talk can turn unfavorable in certain situations. Hypnosis and Yawn can allow Musharna to cripple something in the form of sleep, which is always game-changing in itself,(comma) and Musharna can have plenty of opportunities to use them with its excellent bulk. Forewarnis unique in terms of scouting coverage or the variety of moves that are commonly associated towards crippling Musharna, such as Toxic or Trickallows Musharna to scout for coverage or otherwise crippling moves such as Toxic and Trick. Toxic seems enticing, but is overshadowed by the utility of Synchronize in many cases,(comma) and Thunder Wave is the more optimalbetter support option for more offensive teams. Rain Dance is interesting, and Musharna can make use of Baton Pass alongside it to generate momentum and get rain sweepers in for free. This does, however, further compound Musharna's problem with 4MSSfour-moveslot syndrome. Rain also really deters the effectiveness of Moonlight.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>(remove space)Musharna is a very difficult Pokemon to check because of its great stat distribution, defensive typing that represents a lack ofleaves it few weaknesses, and a wide, versatilemovepool that gives it a lot of options. Because of how different they play towards one another, each of its sets is exploited in different number of ways based on their flaws and the filler options it chooses.Because of how differently they play and which filler options they choose, each of Musharna's sets has different flaws and vulnerabilities to exploit.Oftentimes a very challenging Pokemon to stop, and in some situations it may mean that players will have to resort to taking risky approaches towards beating it.</p>

<p>(remove space)The best all-around answers, especially onto mono-attacking sets, are Dark-type Pokemon and certain types of Pokemon that resists its STAB movesi'd just insert 'and Steel-' if you do want to keep the meaning of that last bit. Skuntank can come in on the majority of the time besideseverything but a timely Hidden Power Ground and proceed to shut itMusharnadown with Taunt, trap it with Pursuit, or hit it hard with Crunch. Zweilous can just phaze it out and takewhile taking minimal damage from Signal Beam if Musharna has it, and can alsoor respond with Crunch for heavy damage. Mandibuzz is another solid answer that is able to shut down Musharna a majority of the time with its typing, bulk, and abilityaccess to Taunt to stop it from using its support options with Taunt. However, Mandibuzz, however, must be wary of being crippled with Thunder Wave on the switch or Toxic when attempting to cripple ithit Musharnawith Toxicin kind, a strategy that is conflicted bydue to Musharna's Synchronize and Heal Bell. Liepard can switch in and Encore Musharna withinto any move that doesn't threaten it, even being able to ignore Trick Room(')s effect with Pranksterespecially as Prankster ignores Trick Room, and proceed to set up on Musharna. Zweilous and Liepard must be wary of Life Orb or Choice Specs-boosted Signal Beam, however, while also being aware of potentially being crippled by Trickas well as Trick. Generally speaking, any set that forgoes Heal Bell areis susceptible to status, but you must be wary of Synchronize's sideeffect as theyit can turn your strategy against you. This is where Steel-type Pokemon such as Metang, Bastiodon, orand Probopass become some of the most solid answers.(period)resistingThey resist Psychic and takingtake very little from Musharna's coverage moves barring Hidden Power Ground and Trick, while dismantlingand reduce its overall performance with Toxic. Metang, Bastiodon,(comma) and Probopass are also able to stall out Heal Bell between Metang(')s 4x resistance to Psychic and Probopass(') excellent bulk with Leftovers, alongside their immunity to Toxic that ignores Synchronize(')s effect.</p>

<p>(remove space)In regards to other offensive Pokemon, Golurk can take two unboosted Psychic hits and proceed to 2HKO with Shadow Punch. Swoobat can outboost Calm Mind Musharna and overwhelm it with boosted Stored Power, while its typing is great for tanking most of Musharna's attacks in general, giving it many opportunities to set up on itMusharna. Powerful physical Bug-types such as Scolipede, Pinsir, and Armaldo can 2HKO with their STAB moves. Haunter can Disable Musharna's Psychic and proceed to wear it down with Shadow Ball, or can serve as a last-ditch resort with Destiny Bond. Most Choice-locked attackers such as Braviary, orand powerful special attackers that can 2HKO it before it can start boosting with Calm Mind examples? can easily overwhelm Musharna with their sheer power,(comma) making it unableimpossible for Musharna to safely boost.</p>

Click to expand...

gp 1/2

couple of nitty gritty formatting stuff to mention first:
1\ the purple (')'d apostrophes should all be changed to straight ones (they're currently curly); see this thread if you need help or just make the edits directly on the forum
2\ end your paragraphs with </p> with the slash, haha :3

other than that, the main issue i had with your analysis is that it's kind of vague! information like life orb giving you higher damage output in exchange for survivability, a specially defensive spread allowing you to set up on special attackers, etc, is kind of obvious tbh, and therefore sort of comes across as 'fluff' :/

i think that right now you have the structure and the basics, but this analysis could really be much more useful if you provided more specific examples to illustrate your point (what specific KOs does a physically/ defensive spread let you avoid, which attacks or foes either of those let you set up on, which KOs you obtain or miss with leftovers/ LO, stuff like that) i hope that was helpful; feel free to message me back if i might be able to clarify this any more for you.

Moderator

C&C Leader

Hide(Move your mouse to the hide area to reveal the content)Show HideHide Hide

[Overview]

<p>Musharna is one of the most versatile Pokemon in the tier due to a great stat distribution and a movepool that adds to its ability to perform a variety of roles. Such options include that of a defensive pivot, boosting sweeper, offensive Trick Room sweeper, and Choice Specs wallbreaker. Excellent defensive capabilities allow Musharna to check or counter most physical attackers, such as Sawk and Kangaskhan, as well as check most opposing Psychic-types, defensive threats, and most weak special attackers. Musharna has a wide, viable movepool with options including Heal Bell, Thunder Wave, Baton Pass, and Trick, while having reliable recovery of its own in Moonlight. Synchronize gives Musharna a great weapon against more defensive teams, as this allows it to cripple most defensive Pokemon that depend on status to wear it down. While access to so many useful options makes it an exceptional pick for many teams, Musharna's usefulness depends a lot on the variety of moves that it needs to run in a given situation, which highlights its biggest shortcoming in the fact that it's only limited to only four of those options. It is also one of the slowest Pokemon in the tier, meaning that it is often prone to being worn down as it constantly gets pummeled by powerful attacks and passive damage. Musharna is able to threaten a lot of Pokemon that don't resist its STAB, but it tends to struggle a lot against most Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon that can either trap it or inflict said passive damage.</p>

<p>In a metagame where most common Pokemon are fast and frail, support pivot Musharna has a niche as a Pokemon able to utilize its bulk to find many opportunities to support its team. Musharna is able to switch into and safely cripple a lot of offensive Pokemon that fail to 2HKO it such as every common Fighting-type, as well as nearly every defensive Pokemon. The ability to heal with Moonlight is the staple of the set, as it allows Musharna to continuously perform its role of countering threats, giving it more opportunities to spread status or attack when necessary. Thunder Wave is also a given, as it provides paralysis support, which is useful especially against more offensive teams. As the main form of support in this set, Thunder Wave allows Musharna to find more and safer opportunities to utilize its other support options or heal, as it can outpace most paralyzed Pokemon, giving it a much easier time checking threats. Baton Pass is used to provide momentum for the team, and is particularly useful against Dark-types and Golurk as they attempt to switch into Psychic or Thunder Wave, respectively. It also works very well with Musharna's low Speed, which gives it a lot of opportunities to bring a teammate in for free. With Thunder Wave support on the switch, Baton Pass allows Musharna to get out of Skuntank for free. Heal Bell is a safer alternative as far as supporting the team and itself goes, allowing Musharna to cure status. This can be especially helpful when facing walls that rely on status to cripple Musharna, as they are crippled in return by Synchronize. Psychic is Musharna's primary STAB move, dealing respectable damage overall, giving it an option to hit Ground-types that are immune to Thunder Wave, and preventing itself from becoming Taunt bait.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>240 HP EVs give Musharna a Leftovers number to reduce passive damage, while the rest goes to its overall bulk. The selected moves provide Musharna the most effective form of consistently supporting its teammates, but there are other alternatives that can be useful in certain situations. Reflect is unique in the fact that it allows Musharna to bypass any of the physical attackers that can reliably break through it, such as Dark-types, Golurk, and Scolipede, allowing it to either safely switch out or retaliate. The same applies to special attackers such as Shiftry or Charizard if using Light Screen. Both moves can also be used to help teammates set up.</p>

<p>Pokemon that can lure or reliably threaten Dark- and Steel-types are especially good partners, as said Dark- and Steel-types are often common obstacles that can safely switch into Musharna and dismantle it with Pursuit or Toxic, respectively. Fighting-types such as Sawk and Gurdurr are excellent examples, as they can easily threaten essentially all of those obstacles, while also being able to take advantage of the likes of Audino and other Heal Bell users that don't particularly mind Musharna's plethora of opportunities to use Thunder Wave. Musharna can also form part of a Psychic / Fighting / Dark core that focuses on eliminating each other's checks. Haunter is also a good teammate to consider, as it can take advantage of free Baton Pass switch-ins with its excellent offensive prowess, break down offensive teams with the help of Thunder Wave support, and lure and eliminate several of Musharna's checks with Destiny Bond.</p>

<p>While this set might seem similar to the support setvery similar to the previous one at first glance, this set focuses more on obtaining a win condition by playing the role of a bulky boosting sweeper. Musharna can slowly gain boosts on many physical attackers that can't 2HKO it such as most Fighting-type Pokemon that it counters, as well as almost any defensive Pokemon that isn't a Steel-type that carries Toxic. One of the main perks of this set is that even though it is more of a sweeper, Musharna is also easily capable of functioning as a physical wall of sorts, being able to support the team in a variety of ways in the process. Calm Mind is the central move of the set, boosting Musharna's Special Attack and Special Defense by one level. After a single Calm Mind boost, Musharna's Special Defense becomes extraordinarily high, making it nearly impossible to 2HKO under most circumstances. Moonlight allows Musharna to pivot against threats that it can wall, and can be used to heal up any damage taken while setting up, or give it more opportunities to set up throughout the course of the match. Psychic is the primary STAB move, and easily has overwhelming damage output after several boosts. Heal Bell is the primary filler of choice, as it allows Musharna to support its teammates and itself. The latter is especially important in allowing Musharna to function as a stallbreaker against more defensive teams, and helps prevents its sweep from being cut short from annoying status ailments. However, Baton Pass provides excellent momentum with Musharna's low Speed, however, and can even give a teammate a temporary advantage by passing Calm Mind boosts. Signal Beam is Musharna's main coverage move, allowing it to hit Dark- and Psychic-types that aren't troubled by Psychic.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The given EV spread as usual gives Musharna a Leftovers number, giving it as much physical bulk as possible while the rest is dumped into Special Defense. A more offensive spread with more Special Attack investment can be used, but the problem with this is that the lack of defensive investment makes it much easier for physical attackers to break through Musharna. Likewise, Musharna can opt to run more Special Defense investment to set up more easily on special attackers such as Charizard and Eelektross, but that detracts from its ability to function as a mixed wall, and is largely unnecessary as Musharna is already boosting its Special Defense. As far as other move options go, it should be noted first of all that Musharna will have to forgo other important options, such as the ability to hit Dark-types, or to heal the team of status. Thunder Wave is nice to cripple Pokemon before Musharna attempts a sweep, and helps it better support its offensive teammates. Reflect lets it set up on a lot more physical attackers, like Scolipede and Golurk that Musharna tends to lure, while also helping Musharna escape from Skuntank's Pursuit much more reliably. Psyshock and Stored Power are neat alternatives over Psychic. The former hits special walls harder and allows Musharna to win any Calm Mind war, but is overall weaker than Psychic and more common walls in this metagame tend to be physically defensive anyways. The latter becomes more powerful than Psychic after two Calm Mind boosts, but Musharna doesn't usually have much time to get greedy with Calm Mind against more offensive teams. Hidden Power Ground can provide coverage against Skuntank, Metang, and Bastiodon.</p>

<p>Even though Musharna can make good use of its coverage moves, its abysmal Speed still leaves it vulnerable to Dark- and Steel-type counters such as Skuntank, Zweilous, and Metang. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk remain as the top suggestions for teammates as a result, as they can easily take advantage of them while also making Musharna's job easier against most special walls that can cripple it if it doesn't use Heal Bell. Ground-type Pokemon such as Golem, Piloswine, and Golurk are also good partners, as they are able to bust through most of these checks and set up Stealth Rock to provide more team support. Musharna also appreciates hazard support, as most of its checks are grounded and Musharna has a tendency of forcing many Pokemon out. Scolipede, Garbodor, and Roselia are all solid examples of supporters that can set up Spikes, and Scolipede can also help bust through opposing Psychic-types with its STAB Megahorn that can otherwise prove troublesome for Musharna.</p>

<p>This set takes a different offensive approach to Musharna, taking advantage of its ability to sweep the fast, frail offensive metagame with Trick Room and Life Orb-boosted attacks. While Beheeyem might appear to pull off a set like this much more effectively due to its significantly higher offensive presence and utility with Analytic, Musharna stands out due to its notably superior bulk. This allows Musharna to find a lot more setup opportunities and heal off much more reliably than Beheeyem, while still possessing enough power to break through most offensive Pokemon with the help of Life Orb. Psychic is the consistent STAB move that can hit most Pokemon quite hard, easily OHKOing most offensive Pokemon with some hazard support. Signal Beam is Musharna's best coverage move, as it hits Dark- and Psychic-types that don't take much damage from Psychic. Moonlight is one of the best filler moves on this set, healing Life Orb recoil and other damage. Hidden Power Ground aims to gain a solid 2HKO on Skuntank and Metang, while also OHKOing Bastiodon and Probopass.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The EVs maximize Musharna's combination of power and bulk, and the IVs grant it a maximum Hidden Power Ground with the lowest Speed possible. If you do not wish to use Hidden Power Ground, simply use a 0 Speed IV instead. Leftovers can provide recovery, but this also comes at the cost of significantly cutting the set's damage output overall. It is worth noting that without Life Orb, Musharna fails to OHKO Jynx with Signal Beam after Stealth Rock. Similarly, TwistedSpoon could be used to boost the power of Musharna's STAB move without necessitating Life Orb recoil. Psyshock can hit Audino and Regice harder, but generally less enticing overall in a more physically oriented metagame. Baton Pass is good for momentum, but is generally less effective if Musharna has activated Trick Room already.</p>

<p>This set doesn't require as much support as most of Musharna's other sets, as it sports powerful offensive presence with solid coverage, allowing Musharna to threaten its checks much more efficiently. Nonetheless, Fighting-types remain as the best partners to enable a late-game Musharna sweep, which can also pair up with a Dark-type to make an effective core towards supporting one another. Bulky wallbreakers such as Gurdurr, Choice Band Lickilicky, and Eelektross can provide good backup under Trick Room, while also sharing good offensive synergy with Musharna. This set is much more vulnerable to passive damage between Life Orb damage and entry hazards, and due to the lack of defensive investment, Musharna becomes easier to wear down before it can have an opportunity to heal with Moonlight. As such, Pokemon that can help keep entry hazards away from the field are especially helpful; Choice Band Sawk for example can OHKO most of the common Stealth Rock users thanks to Mold Breaker. A safer alternative is a Rapid Spin user, notably Wartortle, as it can threaten Golurk with Scald and bypass other Ghost-types with Foresight to guarantee a Rapid Spin.</p>

<p>On paper, Choice Specs Musharna seems underwhelming, incapable of either pulling off dedicated sweeps or having the ability to keep itself alive with Moonlight. This set, however, should focus mostly on Musharna's power and ability to break through lots of Pokemon with its immediate offensive presence. This set requires a good amount of prediction to be useful, as locking itself in to an unfavorable coverage move or Psychic against a Dark- or Steel-type can leave it easily forced out. Signal Beam is the safest coverage move for this set, as it can hit Dark- and Psychic-types that its Psychic STAB doesn't cover well. Baton Pass can let Musharna escape from Skuntank switch-ins without taking any damage from potential trapping, while Hidden Power Ground can be used to 2HKO Skuntank and Steel-types. Trick gives this set a unique twist, allowing Musharna to cripple special walls or other common switch-ins, such as Skuntank and Golurk, very well. Sleep Talk can let Musharna also play the role of a sleep absorber, sponging the status from the likes of Tangela and Jynx.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The EV spread increases Musharna's effectiveness as a tank, maximizing its offensive prowess while investing the rest into its bulk. Moonlight can find a place on the set, and especially shares some synergy with Trick, as Musharna can easily switch moves and heal anytime after Tricking Choice Specs. Psyshock can give Musharna a better matchup against Lickilicky, Audino, and Regice, but it's still generally less effective in a metagame with most defensive Pokemon like Misdreavus or Tangela being physically bulky. Shadow Ball can be used to hit Golurk and Misdreavus harder, but it provides redundant coverage with Signal Beam, in fact missing out on Dark-types, which are the biggest obstacle of this set anyways.</p>

<p>This set especially appreciates support from its teammates, so that Musharna doesn't have to risk locking itself in to Signal Beam to hit Dark-types. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk are the most reliable options in this role, as both can usually switch safely into the likes of Skuntank or Liepard and easily threaten with their STAB moves. Ground-types are solid teammates as well, as they can switch in and hit Skuntank hard with Earthquake. Colbur Berry Golurk can also help by luring Skuntank as well as by switching into and threatening Audino and Lickilicky. Destiny Bond lures such as Gardevoir and Haunter are good teammates that can remove common Dark-type switches so that Musharna can safely proceed to spam Psychic.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>As versatile as Musharna is, it is perhaps no surprise that it does have a variety of other options worth considering. Musharna can utilize Rest and Sleep Talk as recovery, but this is ultimately inferior to Moonlight and Heal Bell as the latter two don't require putting itself to sleep, don't depend on the unreliable Sleep Talk, can support other team members as well, and can provide healing each turn. Hypnosis and Yawn can allow Musharna to cripple something in the form of sleep, which is always game-changing in itself, and Musharna can have plenty of opportunities to use them with its excellent bulk. Forewarn allows Musharna to scout for coverage movesor otherwise crippling moves such as Toxic and Trick. Toxic seems enticing, but is overshadowed by the utility of Synchronize in many cases, and Thunder Wave is the better support option for more offensive teams. Rain Dance is interesting, and Musharna can make use of Baton Pass alongside it to generate momentum and get rain sweepers in for free. This does, however, further compound Musharna's four-moveslot syndrome. Rain also really lowers the effectiveness of Moonlight.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Musharna is a very difficult Pokemon to check because of its great stat distribution, defensive typing that leaves it few weaknesses, and a wide movepool that gives it a lot of options. Because of how differently they play and which filler options they choose, each of Musharna's sets has different flaws and vulnerabilities to exploit.</p>

<p>The best all-around answers, especially to mono-attacking sets, are Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon. Skuntank can come in on everything but a timely Hidden Power Ground and proceed to shut Musharna down with Taunt, trap it with Pursuit, or hit it hard with Crunch. Zweilous can just phaze it out while taking minimal damage from Signal Beam or respond with Crunch for heavy damage. Mandibuzz is another solid answer that is able to shut down Musharna a majority of the time with its typing, bulk, and access to Taunt to stop it from using its support options. However, Mandibuzz must be wary of being crippled with Thunder Wave on the switch or Toxic when attempting to hit Musharna in kind, due to Musharna's Synchronize and Heal Bell. Liepard can switch in and Encore Musharna into any move that doesn't threaten it, especially as Prankster ignores Trick Room, and proceed to set up on Musharna. Zweilous and Liepard must be wary of Life Orb or Choice Specs-boosted Signal Beam, however, as well as Trick. Generally speaking, any set that forgoes Heal Bell is susceptible to status, but you must be wary of Synchronize's effect as it can turn your strategy against you. This is where Steel-type Pokemon such as Metang, Bastiodon, and Probopass become some of the most solid answers. They resist Psychic and take very little from Musharna's coverage moves barring Hidden Power Ground and Trick, and reduce its overall performance with Toxic. Metang, Bastiodon, and Probopass are also able to stall out Heal Bell between Metang's 4x resistance to Psychic and Probopass's excellent bulk with Leftovers, alongside their immunity to Toxic.</p>

<p>In regards to other offensive Pokemon, Golurk can take two unboosted Psychic hits and proceed to 2HKO with Shadow Punch. Swoobat can outboost Calm Mind Musharna and overwhelm it with boosted Stored Power, while its typing is great for tanking most of Musharna's attacks in general, giving it many opportunities to set up on Musharna. Powerful physical Bug-types such as Scolipede, Pinsir, and Armaldo can 2HKO with their STAB moves. Haunter can Disable Musharna's Psychic and proceed to wear it down with Shadow Ball, or can serve as a last-ditch resort with Destiny Bond. Most Choice-locked attackers such as Braviary and powerful special attackers that can 2HKO it before it can start boosting with Calm Mind such as Charizard or Jynx can easily overwhelm Musharna with their sheer power, making it impossible for Musharna to safely boost.</p>